How is it that Affirmations Work?

One of the challenges that a beginner learning about subcoonscious concentration or affirmations usually faces is that it seems too simple. That is, how can repeating a statement over and over again effect change in our life and even move forces of the world. To answer this doubt one must explore how affirmations really work.

The first misconception that we must quell is that our minds are mere thinking machines that can only passively process thought, that thoughts are imaginations of our mind, which in and of themself are inanimate or physically nonexistent. This is a misconception from the yogic point of view because, according to yoga philosophy all elements of Creation, physical and spiritual are part of the mind and reality. My guru taught me that the whole universe is contained within oneself. He explained that perception is the real reality. Without perception we cannot experience the world outside or inside us and it is the power of perception that shapes reality. The byproduct of perception are thoughts. It is through thoughts that we devise plans and learn to manipulate the world around us. If not for thoughts as the vehicle for intelligence there can be no invention or innovations by humans. It is through the power of perception and thoughts that we have all the modern conveniences we are used to and live a life on earth not as simple animals, but as super-intelligent beings apart from animals. Thus thoughts have the power to create and shape the world around us.

While it is easy to grasp how thoughts have the ability to shape the world around us, the theory of how affirmations work takes this further by implying that change can also be effected through the 'unconscious' realms of the mind. The sub of the subconscious realm of our mind is an area of the mind that we are rarely if ever, aware of. How then can this area of the mind be even more powerful than thoughts and perception, as yoga philosophy suggests? Well it is the realm of the 'unconscious' within us that drives the very way we perceive and therefore think. As explained earlier, a successful person, has the program of being successful within his or her sub of the subconscious. Because of this program they have a natural and powerful drive for success. They are not disheartened by challenges or hiccups in their plans. Failure is not in their vocabulary. They are driven by a feeling that comes from deep within them that keeps the light of success and confidence shinning. This is their real power, and this power goes even beyond their physical and mental abilities and attracts successful situations to them. We normally know this as luck but it actually has nothing to do with luck, instead it is the innate forces within the subconscious mind obeying the program of success within the person.

Yoga philosophy points out that the potent forces within our subconscious comes from the superconscious mind, or the mind of our soul. The ultimate source of this power is God Himself, Who resides deep within the core of our soul. In other words the affirmations that we place in our sub of the subconscious draws its ability to manifest the situations in our life from God Himself. Thus through subconscious concentration we can realize our dreams by utilizing this God-given powerhouse of a tool within us, our mind to its fullest potential.